Airlines find another fresh trough

Sector sinks to historic lows after Delta's Q3 warning

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Airlines stocks didn't stand a chance Friday, pummeled first by Delta's warning that third quarter losses were deeper than expected and then battered further by a broader market meltdown that sent the sector spiraling to another historic low.

When the thrashing ended, the Amex Airline Index ($XAL) collapsed to 31.93, a 10 percent drop.

Every major carrier followed that slide, pushing the Amex Airline Index ($XAL) down more than 8 percent to 32.50.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Delta said it would fall $350 million into the red, after cash and noncash charges that are mostly related to pension funding, for the third quarter. It expects revenues to stay flat through the rest of the year. Read the full story.

Delta's warning that travel in September was woefully under even the grimmest of forecasts hurled the sector into a tailspin. With only two exceptions, every major airliner plunged into the red -- some with numbing double-digit losses.

United Airlines parent UAL
UAL, -3.32%
gave up nearly 20 percent -- easily rubbing out the advances made after the unions presented a $5 billion cost-saving plan to management earlier this week. See full story.

Elsewhere in the sector, Continental
CAL, -1.93%
gave up 7.6 percent, or 44 cents, to $6.85; Airtran
AAI, +0.00%
fell 5.6 percent, or 17 cents, to $2.89 while Mesa
MESA
was off 3.1 percent, or 13 cents, to $4.02.

ExpressJet
XJT
lost 3.2 percent, or 30 cents, to $9, and JetBlue
JBLU, -6.05%
was lower by 58 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $42.02.

Southwest
LUV, -3.91%
which is still forecasting a profit in the second half, tracked down to $12.73, off 8.1 percent, or $1.12.

There were gainers. US Airways
UAWGQ
in bankruptcy with a savior in the Retirement System of Alabama, tacked on 4.5 percent to 59 cents. See full story.

ATA Holdings
ATAH
which last Thursday got a preliminary nod for a $148.5 million federal loan guarantee, tracked higher by 5.2 percent, or 16 cents, to $3.22. See full story.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only.
Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.